KETV NewsWatch 7's Adrian Whitsett served in the Marines for four years and was part of the initial invasion force.

One of Whitsett's close friends, a brother in arms, Jake Gardner, was with him then and talked with him Tuesday about their experiences.

"I remember when we first moved, our gunny came in and woke us up and said, 'Pack your stuff, we're going,'" Whitsett recalled. "And 17 hours later, we're in MOPP suits, hanging out at the (landing zone)."

"I have like the most explicit memories from the moment we went across that border to the moment I got on that plane and went home," Gardner said.

"All of a sudden, the Fedayeen and Republican Guard are both closing in on us from different directions," Gardner said. "That was the craziest night of my life -- 16 hours straight fire fight."

"We're always going to bear some of the mental scarring from what we saw and what we did," Whitsett said. "It's just about trying to move past that."

"We're talking about 4,800 dead, hundreds of thousands deployed and a million combat vets at this point. And we are a tiny piece of that puzzle," Gardner said.

"I've received unbelievable help from the Marine Corps and the VA and friends, but I think a huge part of hour mental health being where it is is this connection that we have with each other," Gardner told Whitsett.